Hey, I am new here and have been in a bind for a month trying to identify what phone i need to do the following. Really hope you guys can help me
narrow down a finalist. I have some 'special needs' as follows.

Am on a Sprint SERO Plan/unlimited data. Have been on an old Sanyo 9000 for 5+ years and need to move up to a tetherable 'smarter' phone that works EASILY with a Mac... for locations where wi-fi is not an option.

I need said phone to have EVDO Rev.A capability to run on Sprint Network

Prefer a very straightforward, easy-learning-curve phone OS... Not necessarily into touchscreen keypad - would prefer a regular raised type AND
screen touchpad as an option.

I also need a reasonably decent sized Display as i need to use browser and be able to send/get email easily. (Such as most BBs offer...)

Ideally would prefer usbmodem type tether to mac but if BT is the only way to get it done, am ok with that. Just want optimum upload speed possible
and have heard usbmodem is going to be fastest connectivity-wise.
I also don't particularly need a wi-fi hotspot from the phone...just connecting a single laptop.

I do not like Windows phones (or computer OS) and just returned a TP2 - needlessly complex with unnecessary features...

BB or Palm have been suggested. So assuming i go with a BB, how much 'tweaking' am i in store for or is there a relatively 'out-of-the-box-easy' way to go to tether pretty intuitively running a Mac 10.4 OSX laptop? Right now
with SERO I'm $30/month with unltd data but the ol
Sanyo can't be made to tether. I would go with a laptop-connect data card but that more than doubles my monthly rate and for the amount of time i actually need to use this hook-up, wouldn't be worth it.

Thanks for reading through all this and any suggestions hugely appreciated.

Mike

Dubdub

08-07-2010 02:29 PM

What research have you done already? Have you narrowed your BB choices down to specific models. Do that and you will probably get more assistance. A little homework on your part tends to g a long way on nay Forum.

You will need a BB data plan for all BB related services such as WiFi, email, BBM, BB Browser etc. Don't think SERO is an option. Don't use SPRINT so I can't say for certain.

Plus, I am not 100% certain, but I think the Mac version of Desktop Manager requires Mac OSX 10.5 or higher.

What research have you done already? Have you narrowed your BB choices down to specific models. Do that and you will probably get more assistance. A little homework on your part tends to g a long way on nay Forum.

You will need a BB data plan for all BB related services such as WiFi, email, BBM, BB Browser etc. Don't think SERO is an option. Don't use SPRINT so I can't say for certain.

Plus, I am not 100% certain, but I think the Mac version of Desktop Manager requires Mac OSX 10.5 or higher.

Hi and thanks for your reply. I hear ya, but this kind of IS a big part of my research. I'm here - as well as on other cellphone forums - because I presume I'll get real-world actual-user-experience insights that simply aren't available from the typical user-review or device description you get from most phone review sites.
That's because there just isn't a vast amount of information out there generically available about the specific question of what phones work best with Macs ( since most - like so many other devices - Don't ; )

That said, I can only say that I've narrowed it down to any BB that is EVDO Rev.A capable and can be usb-tethered - on a Sprint SERO plan. Beyond that there's alot of conflicting data out there as to what works and what doesn't....what is simple to use without requiring some high-tech tweaking - and what will work 'out-of-the-box' with some simple configuration settings...
that sort of thing. Come to think of it i actually have done a pretty good amount of homework and the result is that I'm still confused because i don't find any simple answer as a result.

Soo, that's kinda why i've come to yet another Forum website for clues. Believe me, if the world was Mac Friendly - (and no thanks to Apple and Company that it ISN'T) I would likely have resolved this a long time ago. Apple is super-proprietary, that's a given. All I need to figure out is basically something that fits the definition I gave in my OP.

I do know that as of right now i need a BIS/BB Data Plan with Sprint, regardless of if I'm on a SERO plan or not. I really am looking for opinions about the simplicity of tethering a BB on a Mac - and whether a BB
OS is Windows-Like or..more intuitive and straightforward like the Mac OS environment I'm used to. Sincere thanks to you and all for your feedback!